Swansea’s Christmas shoppers have been given a roads boost as they look to spend their money in city centre shops.
Improvements have been made to a road that leads from a key multi-story car park to the main Oystermouth Road.
Swansea Council has worked with contractors Buckingham Group Contracting Ltd to make the timely alterations to Albert Row.
It used to have one lane of traffic feeding into the main road – now it has two.
This means swifter departures from the Quadrant multi-storey and parking spaces there being vacated more quickly for motorists waiting to head into the car park and shops. Earlier work this year improved the flow of traffic on the neighbouring Wellington Street – now two-way between West Way and the multi-storey entrance and exit.
All the work has been undertaken as part of the £135m Copr Bay Phase One project, bringing an indoor arena, new parkland, commercial units, homes and around 1,000 parking spaces to the area next year.
Mark Thomas, the council’s cabinet member for evironment enhancement and infrastructure, said: “We know how important swift traffic movements are to shoppers, especially at this time of year, so I’m delighted that we’ve made this important change to Albert Row.
“I hope that local people see it as another good reason to shop local and to support Swansea’s local economy and jobs.”
Last week the council launched a #ShopLocalShopSwansea campaign to encourage people to continue shopping locally – and safely – through and beyond the pandemic.
Russell Greenslade, Chief Executive of Swansea BID (Business Improvement District), said: “We are pleased to see shoppers and visitors heading back to Swansea city centre to prepare for Christmas.
“Our city centre businesses have been working hard during the past few very difficult months to support the community and I know people want to show their appreciation by shopping local for the festive season.
“All efforts are being made – with these road improvements, a fantastic parking offer and a safe and secure city centre – to make sure they enjoy the experience.”
The council’s city centre car parks are currently free every Sunday. On other days, parking after 9.30am is £1 for up to two hours and £2 for all day.
Albert Row will change once again next year as preparations are made for it to become the access and exit lane for the Copr Bay multi-storey now being built between the Tesco and Iceland stores and set to offer more than 600 spaces.
